If you have a spare $1,600 burning a hole in your pocket, head on over to Think Geek and grab one of those Optimus Maximus keyboards. That

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers experience with the operating system.

Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP; Windows XP Home Edition ; Windows XP Home Edition N; Windows XP Media Center Edition; Windows XP Professional Edition ; Windows XP Professional N; Windows XP Service Pack 1; Windows XP Service Pack 2; Windows XP Starter Edition; Windows XP Tablet PC Edition.

Download - click here

Intel hopes to carry on this tradition with its Centrino 2 platform which is slated to launch during the summer as Dailytech reports.

NVIDIA seems to have a mind of it's own though. NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang recently called Intel out on its integrated desktop/mobile graphics performance. Huang even went so far as to say that NVIDIA would "open a can of whoop ass" when it comes to its upcoming products.

It appears that NVIDIA's first few cans of "whoop ass" are just now leaving the factory and they are labeled MCP79. MCP79 is a new single-chip integrated chipset for "small form factor" notebooks according to NVIDIA. Each variant of MCP79 incorporates a DX10-capable GeForce graphics controller supporting Shader Model 4.0, NVIDIA's VP3 video processor, and support for Hybrid Power/Hybrid SLI/Hybrid Performance.

In addition, MCP79 features a single-channel TMDS interface for HDMI 1.2, support for a 1066 MHz FSB, 800 MHz DDR2, 1333 MHz DDR3 memory support, 3 Gbps SATA/eSATA, NVIDIA DriveCache (similar to Intel Turbo Memory), an NVIDIA GbE controller, High Definition Audio, TPM 1.2, and up to 20 PCIe 2.0 lanes.

NVIDIA has plans for six members of the MCP79 family. On the low-end, the MCP79ML lacks such features as RAID 0/1, PCIe x16, DisplayCache, and DriveCache. The MCP79GLM will feature a Quadro-based graphics controller instead of GeForce and the MCP79-SLI will support NVIDIA SLI as its name implies. Other members of the family include the MCP79MH, MCP79MX, and MCP79MVL.

NVIDIA's MCP79 family will be going toe-to-toe with Intel's Centrino 2 platform (Montevina) in June. Montevina Northbridges will include the integrated GM45/GM47 and the discrete PM45. The integrated Northbridges will incorporate Intel's new X4500 HD graphics processor (DX10, HDMI, DisplayPort) which NVIDIA doesn't think too highly of at this point in time. Like NVIDIA's MCP79, Centrino 2 chipset will support DDR2/DDR3 memory and support FSB's up to 1066MHz.

Since the Centrino platform won't be a single-chip solution like NVIDIA's offering, the GM45/GM47 and PM45 will be paired with either the ICH9M or ICH9-M Enhanced Southbridge.

It's shaping up to be an interesting summer with NVIDIA and Intel battling it out in the notebook platform sector. If flash manufacturers could expedite their downward trend for solid-state drives, the outlook would be even better for consumers.

GGmania reports that the eBay Motors brand will be integrated into Race Driver: GRID (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, NDS) as a car and racetrack sponsor and as an in-game gameplay feature, publisher Codemasters announced today. The company also released a new trailer showcasing an eBay-branded car. Players in the game will actually buy and sell in-game vehicles using the eBay Motors service just like they would in real life. eBay Motors will also get a title race in the game called "The eBay Motors Mustang Muscle Series" in which they can drive the eBay Motors Mustang GTR concept car in San Francisco, Long Beach, Washington D.C. and Detroit. This type of next-gen in-game advertising should work well within the confines of Grid, since eBay Motors is widely visited and used by the type of person who might pick up the game.

GRID is aimed for a June 3 release in North America. And gosh i want this game ! 

Intel and AMD recently published detailed, public information about the "DTS" (Digital Thermal Sensor), which provides much higher accuracy and more relevant temperature reading than the standard thermal diode sensors do. (How it works).

This feature is supported on all Intel Core and Core 2 based processors as well as the whole AMD's Athlon64 line of CPUs. For a full list of supported CPUs see the CPU Support List.

Core Temp also has a logging feature, allowing a user to easily record the temperature of his processor(s) over any period of time, then the data can be easily transferred into an excel datasheet for easy graphing.

Core Temp works on Windows 2000, XP and 2003 (both 32bit and 64bit versions). Windows Vista 32bit is fully supported.

Version 0.98.1

• Fix: Core Temp sometimes crashes when another program tries to access the log file. - Still needs further testing.
• Add: Show load percentage per core.
• Add: Adjustable Tj.Max value via *.INI file.
• Add: Option to start Core Temp with Windows.
• Add: Support new Intel Mobile processors
• Change: Maximum logging interval is now 99999ms instead of 9999ms.
• Change: Log file layout. Shows current temperature, high\low temperature, core load, CPU speed.

Download - click here

Version now updated to 0.98.1 die to a small 45nm Processor bug - thanks watcher !

Upcoming Thursday around roughly 10:00 AM Guru3D.com will go offline for roughly an hour.

There is maintenance scheduled including moving the servers into a new rack. If no problem occur this downtime will be less than an hour. Maintenance is scheduled around 10:00 AM Central European Time which is:

• 10:00 AM CET
• 08:00 AM GMT
• 03:00 AM PST

Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience.

SpeedFan is a freeware program that monitors fan speeds, temperatures and voltages in computers with hardware monitoring chips.

Added

• full support for SiS964 SMBus
• full support for SiS966 SMBus
• full support for ULi M1575 SMBus
• full support for VIA VT8237S SMBus
• full support for VIA VT8251 SMBus
• full support for nVidia MCP61 SMBus
• full support to read internal temperatures on AMD K10 processors
• native nVidia video card (up to, but excluding 8xxx) internal temperature reporting
• full support for SMSC SCH5307
• full support for F8000 temperatures and fan speeds
• full support for SMSC EMCT03
• full support for WINBOND W83793G, including ADVANCED options
• support for Fintek F71782F hardware monitor at unusual addresses
• support for Winbond W83627DHG at unusual addresses
• support for ITE IT8726F hardware monitor at unusual addresses
• support for a new stepping of the Andigilog aSC7621
• SMSC LPC47M192 FAN DIVISOR settings in CONFIGURE / ADVANCED
• full PWM support to SMSC LPC47B397, including settings in CONFIGURE / ADVANCED
• preliminary DDR3 identification

Improved

• DDR2 memory module size detection
• Tjunction detection for Intel CORE temperatures (you might no longer need the temperature offset in CONFIGURE / ADVANCED)
• Winbond W83791D properly handles higher fan divisors for fan1, fan2 and fan3 and shows fan4 and fan5 too
• CONFIGURE now allows to go as low as -60C when selecting the DESIRED and WARNING levels to let users of the RELATIVE Intel Core temperature reading properly configure SpeedFan
• restored the correct clock speed after resume from hibernation
• rewritten the logic of the usage of a synchronizer in the thread that reads CPU usage (this will fix the SpeedFan not exiting issue)
• address $2E on DFI motherboards is no longer scanned if the motherboard model starts with LP. If you have one of these models and you know that there should be a valid chip at that address, send me a SEND REPORT (INFO tab) with some NOTES
• mails sent by SpeedFan now properly separate headers and the body with a blank line
• new icon by Bengt Strom

Fixed

• an issue where Intel Core temperatures on multi core systems reported the same temperature for all cores
• fixed crash on several DFI motherboards
• fixed the detection of older revisions of the ITE IT8705F
• fixed ADT7475 temperature readings when in offset 64 mode
• fixed a bug when changing the type of data to be charted
• fixed an issue with SUN 2864 motherboard

Download - click here

SiSoft released SiSoftware Sandra XII 2008 SP2 (14.24). SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility. It should provide most of the information (including undocumented) you need to know about your hardware, software and other devices whether hardware or software.

Download

Seagate announced that it is the first hard drive manufacturer worldwide to have shipped 1 billion hard drives.

The 1 billion hard drives Seagate has delivered equates to approximately 79 million terabytes, able to store 158 billion hours of digital video or 1.2 trillion hours of your favorite music

In our forums a thread just started called 'Remembering the old'. In here people show photo's of their oldest graphics cards. Pretty funny to be honest, so I have an extensive collection of graphics cards. Ever since 1996/1997 this fetish started. If at all interesting on a slow news day, I might just take a card every now and then, and make a new photo of it.

The first is where it really all started for me .. This is a 3Dfx voodoo graphics based card. back in these days 3D graphics (or actually accelerator it was called back then) you needed to add it next to your existing 2D graphics card and loop the two with a cable.

Some interesting facts, 65K maximum colors, highest resolution supported 800x600 (640x480 was the norm). 4 MB EDO memory.

Tri-core computing with AMD's Phenom X3 8750

With the incremental increase in multi-core computing AMD last year surprised pretty much anybody in the world when information leaked regarding a roadmap showing CPUs with not 1,2 or 4 cores on them .. no three cores. That's right, a triple core processor based on the Phenom architecture.

So then, recently AMD released their Phenom X4 50-series processors, with an all new fixed B3 core, with which they can now leave the past behind them and move forward with processors that can actually start competing with the competition. Today we'll look at a B3 based Phenom X3 xx50-series processor, the Phenom X3 8750.

Let's have a look at it:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-phenom-x3-8750-review/

Fun story at Engadget today, we've already seen the MacBook Air bathed in gold and crystals, but it seems that people just can't leave well enough alone, with the folks at Computer Choppers (no strangers to gilded Macs) only the latest to spare no expense in taking the laptop to heights of tackiness that no one from Cupertino would ever dare dream of.

That includes 24kt gold plating over the entire laptop and, in a final stake through El Jobso's heart, an Apple logo ensconced in multi-colored sapphires -- not to mention a polished gold SuperDrive to go along with it. If your eyes can take it, have a peek:

Hiper Media Center HTPC HMC-2K53A-A3 review
(Media Center HTPC Slimline barebone)

Hiper recently released a new model of their slim-line HTPC barebone chassis, with VFD (display) fully integrated mainboard and PSU. Pretty much you drop a HD, a slice of memory and a processor in this system and you are good to go since the mainboard even has support for multi-channel audio, VGA & HDMI output as it's based on the reputable AMD 690G chipset (mainboard with integrated graphics card).

And next to all that, it even comes with a pretty decent remote control, all that for 300 bucks.

Read the full review here:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/hiper-media-center-htpc-hmc2k53aa3-review/

Windows XP SP3 will be out in roughly a week -- Microsoft just confirmed that it's been released to manufacturing, and that it'll be in Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center on April 29th. No word on if OEMs and devs got access today like we'd heard, but it shouldn't be long now -- here's hoping that rumored 10 percent speed boost is for real.

 

Today we are happy to announce that Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) has released to manufacturing (RTM). Windows XP SP3 bits are now working their way through our manufacturing channels to be available to OEM and Enterprise customers.

We are also in the final stages of preparing for release to the web (i.e. you!) on April 29th, via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center. Online documentation for Windows XP SP3, such as Microsoft Knowledge Base articles and the Microsoft TechNet Windows XP TechCenter, will be updated then. For customers who use Windows XP at home, Windows XP SP3 Automatic Update distribution for users at home will begin in early summer. 

Thanks to everyone here who installed the public betas

AMD introducedtwo new energy efficient processors, the Athlon X2 4450e and 4050e, pretty stealty release I might add. The CPUs have a TDP of 45Watt and by the looks of it, they are identical to the previously released Athlon X2 BE-2400 and BE-2350.

WHAT: AMD has released two new 45-watt processors, Energy Efficient AMD Athlon

From the bloodlines of the WD Raptor, the WD VelociRaptor hard drive is built with enterprise-class mechanics and packs 300 GB of storage capacity into a 2.5-inch enterprise form factor. The 2.5-inch WD VelociRaptor drive is enclosed in the IcePack, a 3.5-inch mounting frame with a built-in heat sink -- a customization that fits the drive into a standard 3.5-inch system bay and keeps this powerful drive extra cool when installed in a high-performance desktop chassis.

Features of the new WD VelociRaptor hard drives include:

• 10,000 RPM, SATA 3 Gb/s interface, 16 MB cache.
• 1.4 million hours MTBF.
• The 2.5-inch WD VelociRaptor drives are enclosed in a 3.5-inch enterprise-class mounting frame with a built-in heat sink.
• Rotary Acceleration Feed Forward (RAFF) - Optimizes performance when the drives are used in vibration-prone, multi-drive chassis.
• SecurePark - Parks the recording heads off the disk surface during spin up, spin down and when the drive is off. This ensures the recording head never touches the disk surface.

WD VelociRaptor (model WD3000GLFS) hard drives will be available on Alienware's high-performance ALX gaming desktop by the end of April. At launch, Alienware will offer two 300 GB WD VelociRaptor hard drives in RAID 0 configuration on www.alienware.com. WD VelociRaptor hard drives will be shipping exclusively through Alienware this month and will be available through the company's online store and at select distributors and resellers mid-May. Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the WD VelociRaptor 300 GB is $299.99 USD.

Publisher Midway has released an video walkthrough from the open-world title This Is Vegas (PC, PS3, Xbox 360),, showcasing the title's party component and its multiple activities.

When a powerful businessman begins turning Vegas into a family-friendly tourist trap, you must start your own powerful empire and resurrect the famous adult playground. Party hard at the hottest clubs to make VIP connections.  Grow your bankroll by hitting high stakes tables.  Race the fastest cars on the underground circuit to raise your reputation.  Fight off enemies with fists and firearms to prove your strength.  Where you go and what you do is your call whether counting cards, seducing dangerous women, cruising the strip or starting bar brawls, there

According to AMD's Dirk Meyer we can expect a significant number of new products from AMD in May and according to TG Daily this will actually include the Radeon HD 4800 series. The desktop versions should arrive soon but the RV770-based FireGL workstation boards aren't expected until mid-August. The clockspeeds of these new GPUs are still subject to change but the site mentions the Radeon HD 4870 will be clocked above 1GHz and the Radeon HD 4850 will have a frequency of about 800MHz. The chips will support both GDDR3 and GDDR5 memory and will feature 32 texture memory units (TMUs).

The new graphics card generation is expected to become available to system integrators and OEMs in GDDR3/GDDR5 variants with 256/512/1024 MB buffers. 256 MB GDDR3 cards are exclusively targeted at OEMs (as well as ODMs, Sis) and are unlikely to shop up in retail. Expect to see mainly 512 MB GDDR5 cards in retail for both the 4850 and 4870. Just like the GPU, the memory clock isn't set in stone either, but we were told that the GDDR5 memory is currently running at a physical clock of 1.8 - 2.2 GHz.

With a 256-bit memory controller, we're talking about 115 to 141 GB/s of bandwidth. This number equals the memory bandwidth record set by the 2900XT 1GB GDDR4 (512-bit interface with GDDR4 at 1.1 GHz DDR).

All specs are of course speculation, yet it looks like May is going to be an interesting month for sure.

Reuters just noted that later today the studio will announce plans to release about 40 movies on the format in the second half of the year, including Doomsday. The only studio to support solely HD DVD from the beginning will come out with all three of its Mummy films: The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, and The Scorpion King July 22 (sounds like someone's bitter about HD DVD and taking it out on Blu-ray owners to us), with catalog releases jumping over from red like Miami Vice, Knocked Up, American Gangster and others before the year is out.

July 22 will mark the first Universal high-def movies to ship in blue boxes, with the release of the first two Mummy movies and the spinoff Scorpion King film.

According to Reuters and the Hollywood Reporter, other catalog releases to make the transfer from HD DVD to Blu-ray Disc before the end of 2008 are American Gangster, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Miami Vice, End of Days, U-571 and Land of the Dead.